Divine Books In Islam

The Islamic holy books are the records which most Muslims believe were dictated by God to various prophets. They are the Tawrat (Torah), the Zabur (commonly the Psalms), the Injil (commonly the Gospel), and the Quran. The words Tawrat and Injil (Commonly the Gospel) are mentioned several times in the Qur'an itself.Muslims believe that all holy scriptures except the Qur'an have been altered from their original forms over time, Tahrif.

Holy Quran

The Quran (Arabic: القرآن‎ ,Al-Quran) literally meaning "A recitation", also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Coran, Kuran is the central religious text of Islam. The Qur'an is considered by Muslims to be "The Word of ALLAH (God)". It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language.Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through angel Jibril (Gabriel) from ALLAH to Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) gradually over a period of approximately twenty-three years beginning in 610 CE, when Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was forty, and concluding in 632 CE, the year of his death. The Qur'an was not written all together in book-form while Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was alive; it was kept by oral communication and brief written records. Shortly after Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) death the Quran was compiled into a single book by order of the first Caliph Abu Bakr (ALLAH Bless With Him) and at the suggestion of his future successor Umar (ALLAH Bless With Him). Hafsa (ALLAH Bless With Her), Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) wife and Umar's daughter, was entrusted with that Quranic text after the second Caliph Umar (ALLAH Bless With Him) died. When the third Caliph Uthman (ALLAH Bless With Him) began noticing slight differences in Arabic dialect he sought Hafsa's permission to use her text to be set as the standard dialect, the Quraish dialect now known as Fus'ha (Modern Standard Arabic). Before returning the text to Hafsa (ALLAH Bless With Her), Uthman (ALLAH Bless With Him) made several thousand copies of Quran invalidated all other versions of the Quran.Muslims regard the Quran as the main miracle of Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), the proof of his prophethood and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam (Peace On Him), regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Suhuf Ibrahim (Peace On Him) (Scrolls of Abraham), the Tawrat (Torah or Pentateuch) of Moses (Peace On Him), the Zabur (Tehillim or Book of Psalms) of David (Peace On Him), and the Injil (Gospel) of Jesus (Peace On Him).

Etymology and meaning

The word Quran appears about 70 times in the Qur’an itself, assuming various meanings. It is a verbal noun (Masdar) of the Arabic verb Qaraa (Arabic: قرأ), meaning “He read” or “He recited.”

History of Quran

Qur'an manuscript from the 7th century CE, written on vellum in the Hijazi script.

Prophetic eraMuslims believe the Qur'an was first revealed to Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) by the archangel Gabriel in a cave on the mountain of Hira in Mecca during the month of Ramadan in 610 AD, and then over a period of twenty-three years until his death.He would memorize the Qur'an by ear, and later recite it to his companions, who also memorized it. According to Hadith and Muslim history, after Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) emigrated to Medina and formed an independent Muslim community, he ordered a considerable number of the Sahabah to recite the Quran and to learn and teach the laws, which were revealed daily. Since most Sahabah were unable to read or write, they were ordered to learn from the prisoners-of-war the simple writing of the time. Thus a group of sahabah gradually became literate. As it was initially spoken, the Quran was recorded on tablets, bones and the wide, flat ends of date palm fronds. However, the Quran did not exist in book form at the time of Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) death in 632.Abu Bakr (ALLAH Bless With Him)During the life of Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), parts of the Qur'an, though written, were scattered amongst his companions, much of it as private possession. After Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) death, Abu Bakr (ALLAH Bless With Him) initially exercised a policy of laissez faire as well. This policy was reversed after the Battle of Yamama in 633. During the battle, 700 Muslims who had memorized the Qur'an were killed. The death of Salim, however, was most significant, as he was one of the very few who had been entrusted by Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) to teach the Qur'an. Consequently, upon Umar's insistence, Abu Bakr (ALLAH Bless With Him) ordered the collection of the hitherto scattered pieces of the Qur'an into one copy.Zaid Ibn Thabit (ALLAH Bless With Him), Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) primary scribe, was assigned the duty of collecting all of the Qur'anic text. This was his reaction:"By ALLAH, if he (Abu Bakr) had ordered me to shift one of the mountains it would not have been harder for me than what he had ordered me concerning the collection of the Qur'an. So I started locating the Qur'anic material and collecting it from parchments, scapula, leafstalks of date palms and from the memories of men". [Bukhari Sahih Al-Bukhari, 6:60:201]The task required Ibn Thabit (ALLAH Bless With Him) to collect written copies of the Qur'an, with each verse having validated with the oral testimony of at least two companions. Usually the written copies were verified by himself and Umar - both of whom had memorized portions of the Qur'an. Thus, eventually the entire Qur'an was collected into a single copy, but it still wasn't given any particular order.This compilation was kept by the Caliph Abu Bakr (ALLAH Bless With Him), after his death by his successor, Caliph Umar (ALLAH Bless With Him), who on his deathbed gave them to Hafsa Bint Umar (ALLAH Bless With Him), his daughter and one of Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Her) wives.

Ali Ibn Abu Talib (ALLAH Bless With Him)Ali (ALLAH Bless With Him) compiled a mushaf, a complete version of Qur'an, within six months after the death of Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him). When the volume was completed it was brought to Medina, where it was shown.

Uthman Ibn Affan (ALLAH Bless With Him)By the time of the caliphate of Uthman Ibn Affan (ALLAH Bless With Him), there was a perceived need for the compilation of the Qur'an. The Caliphate had grown considerably, bringing into Islam's fold many new converts from various cultures with varying degrees of isolation. These converts spoke a variety of languages but were not well learned in Arabic and so a complete written text of the Qur'an had to be compiled. Another reason for compiling the Qur'an was that many of the Muslims who had memorised portions of the Qur'an were dying, especially in battle.Uthman is said to have begun a committee (Including Zayd and several prominent members of Quraysh) to produce a standard copy of the text. Some accounts say that this compilation was based on the text kept by Hafsa (ALLAH Bless With Her). Other stories say that Uthman (ALLAH Bless With Him) made his compilation independently, Hafsa's text was brought forward, and the two texts were found to coincide perfectly.Until this time there was reportedly only one written text of the Qur'an. According to Islamic accounts, this text was faithful to its original version. Thus, this became known as Al-Mushaf Al-Uthmani or the "Uthmanic codex". Uthman's reaction in 653 is recorded in the following:So Uthman (ALLAH Bless With Him) sent a message to Hafsa (ALLAH Bless With Her) saying, "Send us the manuscripts of the Qur'an so that we may compile the Qur'anic materials in perfect copies and return the manuscripts to you. Hafsa sent it to Uthman. Uthman then ordered Zaid Bin Thabit, Abdullah Bin Az Zubair, Said Bin Al-As and Abdur Rahman Bin Harith Bin Hisham (ALLAH Bless With All) to rewrite the manuscripts in perfect copies. Uthman said to the three Quraishi men, In case you disagree with Zaid Bin Thabit on any point in the Qur'an, then write it in the dialect of Quraish, the Qur'an was revealed in their tongue." They did so, and when they had written many copies, Uthman returned the original manuscripts to Hafsa. Uthman sent to every Muslim province one copy of what they had copied, and ordered that all the other Qur'anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts or whole copies, be burnt.

Juz \ Para

A Juz (Arabic: جزء‎, Plural اجزاء) literally means "Part" is one of thirty parts of roughly equal length into which the Qur'an is sometimes divided. This division facilitates recitation of the Qur'an in a month, A Juz is further divided into two Ahzab (Groups), and each Hizb (Group) is in turn subdivided into four Quarters. The most commonly referred and memorized Juz is "Juz Amma", which is the 30th Juz and contains Surahs 78 through 114, most of the shortest Suras in the Qur'an. Amma is generally taught first to children. Juz Amma is named after the 1st word of the 1st Sura (i.e. Sura 78) in that Juz. Muslims from South Asia also refer to a Juz as a Para.

Suras \ Chapters

Ayatul Kursi, 255th Verse of the Sura Al-Baqara,Longest Sura of Quran

A Sura (Also spelled Surah, Surat; Arabic: سورة‎ ) is a division of the Qur'an, often referred to as a chapter. The term chapter is sometimes avoided, as the Suras are of roughly unequal length; the shortest Sura (Al-Kawthar) has only three Ayat (Verses) while the longest (Al-Baqara) contains 286 Ayat. Of the 114 Suras in the Qur'an, 86 are classified as Meccan while 28 are Medinan - this classification is only approximate as regards location of revelation - in actual fact, any sura revealed post-Hijrah is termed Medinan Sura and any revealed before that event is termed as Meccan Sura. The Meccan Suras generally deal with faith and scenes of the Hereafter, while the Medinan Suras are more concerned with organizing the social life of the nascent Muslim community.

Ayats \ Verses

Ayah or Aayah (Arabic: آية, Plural آيات Ayat) is the Arabic word for omen, sign, proof, commandment, law, rule and/or guidance.The word is usually used to refer to a Verse of the Qur'an, i.e. the smallest unit of the Qur'an. Muslims believe that each Ayah of the Qur'an is a sign from God Called ALLAH in Arabic. Chapters in the Qur'an, called Sura in Arabic, are made up of several Ayahs. The total number of Verses in the Quran is 6666. The Verse number in a symbol is written at the end of each Verse. This symbol is ۝, end of Ayah.

The First And Last Verse

First Verses Of Quran According To Revelation

The first revelation of Quran on Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) was Ayat of Sura Al-Alaq 1 To 5 are given below

Forbidden for you are carrion, and blood, and flesh of swine, and that which has been slaughtered while proclaiming the name of any other than ALLAH, and one killed by strangling, and one killed with blunt weapons, and one which died by falling, and that which was gored by the horns of some animal, and one eaten by a wild beast, except those whom you slaughter; and (Also forbidden is) that which is slaughtered at the altar (Of idols) and that which is distributed by the throwing of arrows (As an omen); this is an act of sin; this day, the disbelievers are in despair concerning your religion, so do not fear them and fear Me; this day have I perfected your religion for you* and completed My favour upon you, and have chosen Islam as your religion; so whoever is forced by intense hunger and thirst and does not incline towards sin, then indeed ALLAH is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful. *[Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him) is the Last Prophet]

Tawrat

According to Islam

Tawrat (Tawrah or Taurat, Arabic: توراة) is the Arabic word for the Torah. Most Muslims believe it is one of the Holy books given by God to Prophet Moses (Peace On Him). The Hebrew word for their scripture, the Torah also known as the Five Books of Moses or the Pentateuch means instructions, that is why Tawrat as per the Qur'an does not refer to the entire Tanakh or Old Testament. All prophets governed with Tawrat 5:44, and meaning of Tawrat as per Qur'an is the Law, mentioned in 5:45; We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal." But if any one remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) wrong-doers.The word Tawrat occurs eighteen times and name of Musa is mentioned one hundred and thirty six times in the Qur'an. Nowhere in the Qur'an is it written that Musa alone has been given Tawrat.

According to Christianity and Judaism

Bereshit aleph, or the first chapter of Genesis, written on an egg, which is kept in the Israel Museum.

Torah (תורה) is a Hebrew word that means "Instructions" also known as the Pentateuch refers to the Five Books of Moses. When most people say the word Torah they are either referring to the whole Jewish Bible, the Tanakh, the first 5 books of the bible or all of the Jewish teaching in general.These five books are the beginning of both Jewish and Christian holy writings.The Torah is the first of three parts of the Tanakh.The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah ("Teaching", also known as the Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and Ketuvim ("Writings").Tanakh is an acronym that is almost the same thing as saying the "Hebrew Bible."The five books are:

Bereshit (Genesis) begins with the story of creation (Genesis 1–3) and Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, as well the account of their descendants. Following these are the accounts of Noah and the great flood (Genesis 3–9), and his descendants. The Tower of Babel and the story of Abraham's covenant with God (Genesis 10–11) are followed by the story of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the life of Joseph (Genesis 12–50). God gives to the Patriarchs a promise of the land of Canaan, but at the end of Genesis the sons of Jacob end up leaving Canaan for Egypt because of a famine.

Shemot (Exodus) is the story of Moses, who leads Israelites out of Pharaoh's Egypt (Exodus 1–18) to take them to the promised land. On the way, they camp at Mount Sinai/Horeb where Moses receives the Torah, including the Ten Commandments, from God, and mediates His laws and Covenant (Exodus 19–24) to the people of Israel. Exodus also deals with the violation of the commandment against idolatry when Aaron took part in the construction of the Golden Calf (Exodus 32–34). Exodus concludes with the instructions on building the Tabernacle (Exodus 25–31; 35–40).

Vayikra (Leviticus) begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle, which they had just built (Leviticus 1–10). This is followed by rules of clean and unclean (Leviticus 11–15), which includes the laws of slaughter and animals permissible to eat (see also: Kashrut), the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16), and various moral and ritual laws sometimes called the Holiness Code (Leviticus 17–26).Bamidbar (Numbers) takes two censuses where the number of Israelites are counted (Numbers 1–3, 26), and has many laws mixed among the narratives. The narratives tell how Israel consolidated itself as a community at Sinai (Numbers 1–9), set out from Sinai to move towards Canaan and spied out the land (Numbers 10–13). Because of unbelief at various points, but especially at Kadesh Barnea (Numbers 14), the Israelites were condemned to wander for forty years in the desert in the vicinity of Kadesh instead of immediately entering the land of promise. Even Moses sins and is told he would not live to enter the land (Numbers 20). At the end of Numbers (Numbers 26–35) Israel moves from the area of Kadesh towards the promised land. They leave the Sinai desert and go around Edom and through Moab where Balak and Balaam oppose them (Numbers 22–24; 31:8, 15–16). They defeat two Transjordan kings, Og and Sihon (Numbers 21), and so come to occupy some territory outside of Canaan. At the end of the book they are on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho ready to enter the Promised Land.Devarim (Deuteronomy) consists primarily of a series of speeches by Moses on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho exhorting Israel to obey God and further instruction on His Laws. At the end of the book (Deuteronomy 34), Moses is allowed to see the promised land from a mountain, but it is not known what happened to Moses on the mountain. He was never seen again. Knowing that he is nearing the end of his life, Moses appoints Joshua his successor, bequeathing to him the mantle of leadership. Soon afterwards Israel begins the conquest of Canaan.

Zabur Or Psalms

According to Islam

Zabur (Arabic: زبور) is by Islam, the holy book of David, and according to Islam, one of the holy books revealed by God before the Qur'an.Some scholars equate the Zabur with the biblical book of Psalms. The term zabur is the Arabic equivalent of the Hebrew zimra, meaning "Song, Music." It, along with zamir ("Song") and mizmor ("Psalm"), is a derivative of zamar, meaning "Sing, Sing praise, Make music."The Zabur is a collection of ancient hymns and spiritual songs. They were originally written to be sung, not just to be recited or read. According to Islamic tradition, the Zabur was the worship book used in Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem. It is often called Dawud's Zabur (or the Psalms of David). This is not intended to imply that David wrote all of the Zabur, because Islamic scholarship sees several prophets and holy men as having contributed to the Zabur. More of the Zabur is attributed to David than to anyone else. Others to whom parts of the Zabur are attributed include Musa (Moses), Uzair (Ezra), Sulayman (Solomon), Ethan, Heman and Asaph. Many of the chapters state at the beginning who wrote that particular chapter. The Zabur contains 150 chapters or songs which are broken down into 5 sections as follows:

First Section—chapters 1 to 41

Second Section—chapters 42 to 72

Third Section—chapters 73 to 89

Fourth Section—chapters 90 to 106

Fifth Section—chapters 107 to 150

According to Christianity and Judaism

Psalms (Hebrew Tehillim תְהִלִּים, or "Praises") is a book of 150 Hebrew poems in the Bible. The Book of Psalms is part of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and it is also in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. People traditionally believe that many of the Psalms in the Bible were written by King David to God. Perhaps the most famous one is Psalm 23, which starts "The LORD is my shepherd". Psalm 23 is often used for funerals.There are 150 Psalms in the Biblical canon of Jews, Protestants, and Catholics, but there are also more poems that these religions do not think are holy. Psalm 151 is part of canon of the Eastern Orthodox Church.The names "Psalms" and "Psalter" come from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament). There, they were about stringed instruments (for example, the harp, lyre and lute), then to songs sung with them. The traditional Hebrew title is tehillim. Tehillim means "Praises", though many of the psalms are tephillot ("Prayers"). One of the first collections in the book was titled "The prayers of David son of Jesse" (72:20, NIV).

Injil or Gospel

According to Islam

The Injil (Arabic إنجيل (or Injeel) is the Arabic name for the Christian gospel, and one of the four Islamic Holy Books the Qur'an records as revealed by God, the others being the Zabur, Tawrat and Qur'an.The word Injil is derived from Greek word Ευαγγέλιον (evangelion), gospel and means 'The good news'.Some Muslims claim the Gospel or the New Testament to have been corrupted over time, however there are not textual evidence of this corruption,others hold the view that the Injil is a lost book, different from the New Testament which was either written by the apostles or people connected to them.

According to ChristianityThe gospel is one of the four books in the Bible about Jesus Christ. A gospel is a writing that describes the life, ministry, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The word is primarily used to refer to the four canonical gospels: the Gospel of Matthew ( إنجيل متى),Gospel of Mark (إنجيل مرقس), Gospel of Luke (إنجيل لوقا) and Gospel of John (إنجيل يوحنا) although it is also used for non-canonical writings such as the Gospel of Thomas. The term "Gospel" refers also to the message itself of the four Gospels or of the whole New Testament.

The Gospel of Matthew

The Gospel of Matthew is a book of the Bible. It is one of the four gospels of the New Testament that tell the story of the life and teachings of Jesus. Matthew's Gospel is placed first because that's how God wanted it to be. However, it is not believed to be the first one that was written. It is believed that it was written by the Apostle Matthew, who was also called Levi. Matthew was one of the Twelve apostles of Jesus. The Gospel of Matthew is called one of the synoptic gospels because it has some of the same stories and language as the Gospels of Mark and Luke.Matthew wrote the Gospel mainly for the Jewish people, to show them that Jesus is really the Messiah. Matthew's gospel is similar to both Mark's gospel and Luke's gospel, and contains many stories about Jesus' life which are very alike. Matthew's gospel has many references to Jewish scripture.

The Gospel of Mark

The Gospel of Mark is a book of the Bible. It is the second book of the New Testament and comes after the Gospel of Matthew even though it may have been written before it. The writer is believed to have been John Mark, a friend of Simon Peter, who was one of the Twelve apostles of Jesus.The four gospels tell the story of the life of Jesus. The word "Gospel" means "Good news". The Gospel of Mark moves quickly, and the story shows how much Jesus worked during his short 3-year ministry. Mark's gospel tells many things about Jesus which are also found in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke.

The Gospel of Luke

The Gospel of Luke is a book of the Bible. Like the other gospels, the Gospel of Luke tells the stories of the life and teachings of Jesus. It is the third book of the New Testament and comes after the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark. The gospel is believed to be written by Luke, who was a friend of the Apostle Paul.Luke was a doctor. He wrote his gospel for a man called Theophilus. Luke wrote another book which is fifth in the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles which tells what Jesus's disciples did after his rise back to Heaven.Unlike the gospel writers Matthew, Mark and John, Luke was probably not Jewish but was Greek. He wrote the gospel mainly for non-Jewish people, (who were called Gentile by the Jews). Luke wrote to prove that Jesus is the Son of God. Luke's gospel contains many similar stories of Jesus. He tells more about the birth of Jesus than the other gospel writers.

The Gospel of John

This is one of the oldest English translations of the Gospels

The Gospel of John is a book of the Bible. It is one of the four "Gospels" at the beginning of the New Testament. The four gospels tell the story of the life of Jesus. The Gospel of John is the fourth book of the New Testament, after the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.In the gospel, it is says that the book was written by "The disciple whom Jesus loved". It is believed that John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee, wrote the gospel. He was probably the youngest of the Twelve apostles of Jesus. John lived a long life and was imprisoned on the Island of Patmos in his old age. He also wrote the last book of the New Testament, called the "Book of Revelation".The Gospel of John tells many of the stories of Jesus' life that are in the other three gospels, but also contains a lot of different information. The Gospel begins by calling Jesus "The Word" (The Communication of God). It says "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God." In John's Gospel, the writer shows that Jesus was part of God, who came to live among humanity so that they could "hear His voice" and have the power to become true "Children of God".According to the gospel, the accounts are written so that the reader "may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name". (TNIV; John 20:31)There is some disagreement over whether the John who wrote the letters of John, the John who wrote The Gospel of John, and the John who wrote the Book of Revelation are the same person.